(Puay-peng Ho) (PDF 4MB - East Asian History

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8PUAY-PENG HOFigure 4A comparison of the gates along thecentral axis of the Chang 'anhuangcheng and jetavana monasteryTaijidian (M ain Hall) :r-South Gate of Ce tral Buddha CloisterTaijimen--.. ...Jiademen --.. -1-0;I -'-Chengtianmen 1Chengtianmen hengjie I (Eas[-WestAvenue)Huangchellg1 (Imperial City)!IGrandvenuerWutoumen-Zhuquein (Gate)Great South GateThe Nine Gates oj the MonasteryFigure 5Schematic plan of a typical cloister injetavana monasteryTt- - -Possible orth GateBanner Pole Banner Pole rr.r n IPos ible Wt GatePossible <strong>East</strong> atel-+ Courtyard plapted with trees l-and flow ring plantsPossible South GateAccording to Daoxuan, the number of the monastery's gates is variouslygiven in the literary sources: in Shengji ji, only an east and a north gate arementioned; and in Sigao, it is said there were four gates in the cardinaldirections with two main avenues intersecting at the centre of the monastery. 30The accounts of Faxian and Xuanzang mention only an east gate. The layoutDaoxuan settled on is neither of these but a schema of nine gates in threedirections (see Figure 2), closely modelled on Tang Chang'an. The outersouthern central gate-tower is described as a three-storied building with fivejianrs' , or bays, constructed by PrinceJeta. There were said to be five bridgesin front of the gate. The two gate-towers to either side of this central gate werealso of three storeys but smaller in size with only three jian. Outside the gatetowerwere said to be groves of flowering trees. The west gates are notdescribed fully as it is said they were only used for the carriage of deceasedmonks to their burial-place outside the monastery.The most extravagant of the nine gate-towers of the monastery describedby Daoxuan was the great east gate, through which the main east-west avenueof the monastery was said to run. The gate was a twelve-storied structure withseventeen archways in the lower storey. For the east gate to have been theloftiest of all is contrary to the normal Chinese practice of making the centralsouth gate of a city or a building complex the most important. The reason
DAOXUAN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE CENTRAL INDIAN JETAVANA VIHARA 9Daoxian gave for this deviation is that this was thegate used by all pilgrims to enter the monastery asthey dared not use the central south gate, the mainentrance to the monastery reserved only for theBuddha. It is also possible that Daoxuan is followingthe account ofFaxian, who states thatJetavanavihara had only an east gate facing the southernhighway that came from the city of SravastLAccording to Xuanzang's account, the only relicleft standing when he visited the site were the twopillars of the east gate. To accomodate the factualaccounts by the travellers of the Indian monastery,Daoxuan may have felt obliged to enhance theimportance of the east gate in his narration.The Subsidiary Cloisters of the MonasteryFigure 6Plan of a cloister in Ximingsiff!iBJl:!1- of Chang 'an (after Xi 'anTang Cheng Gongzuo DUi, "Tang Chang 'an Ximingsi yizhi fajuejianbao [Brief report on the excavation of the remains of Ximingsiin Tang Chang 'an), Kaogu [1990.1/ 47:• t:. 0e U:1§"Remains of the hallAs we have noted, apart from the large central:Buddha cloister, the Illustrated SCripture describesonly 71 subsidiary cloisters, of which 49 were said J:__oto surround the central Buddha cloister, while 20;tlwere placed to the west of the central group.These cloisters may be divided into two groupsaccording to their function, which is reflected intheir names. The first group of 29 cloisters in thesouthern half of the monastery are associatedomainly with Buddhist cultivation, for example:the Cloister of Students of the Four Noble Truths(Xueren sidizhi yuan AIZY*Z3t),31 and the Cloister of Non-BuddhistsWishing to Enter the Priesthood (Waidao laichujia yuan 7'H.*l±J*3t).32The second group of nineteen cloisters, surrounding the central Buddhacloister, was said to be frequently used by the Buddha, and included, forexample, the Cloister where the Buddha Strolls (Fojingxing yuan -m*-rfllt ),33and the Cloister of the Buddha's Wardrobes (Foyifu yuan -m:&fllt). Thereis thus a clear demarcation of the cloisters in the monastery used for the cultivationof the faith, and those more intimately related to the Buddha's daily life.The format used by Daoxuan to describe the cloisters in the monasteryis baSically the same for all cloisters. Each one is simply described as anenclosed courtyard with an entrance that housed a hall or other structures.(Figure 5). Differences between the various cloisters are found in thedirection of the gate-house, the buildings other than the main hall containedin the cloister, and various miraculous events said to have taken place in thecloister. Daoxuan specifically states that the 29 cloisters to the south of thegreat central avenue adopted this basic standard plan.34 This pattern mayhave been derived from an Indian spatial arrangement,35 but it is more likelya typical Chinese plan.-- Courtyardi!..-_ ---"-;='1J"'i'""'If=Jf!====::===-'-II§E""30 QHT], T 45/883 c20-531 Xueren, or saia, are Buddhists cultivatingthe law who are still learning variousaspects of that law. Sidi, or satya, are thefour basic truths of Buddhism-describingthe worldly phenomenon and the waytowards enlightenment.32 Waidao, or lirthaka, refers to all religionsother than Buddhism.33 jingxing, or ca11kramana, refers to strollingin a specific place, such as in front of thelecture hall, or under a pagoda or a pavilion,to quieten one's mind so as to achieve ameditative state.34 QHT], T 45/886 c.10-11.35 The Nalanda monastery, for example,which was visited by Chinese travellers_ AtNalanda, the excavated remains of seventhcenturymonasteries revealed rectangularcomplexes with monk cells lining theperimeter wall (Michell, Monuments lOVER
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